Cities of Refuge: German Jews in London and New York, 1935–1945 by Lori Gemeiner Bihler (review)

Lori Gemeiner Bihler’s comparative study of the German Jewish experience in London and New York “challenges the widely held notion that immigrants integrated into American society because they were recipients of a greater tradition of tolerance and diversity” (xi). Her fascinating study is based on archival collections of German Jewish refugees, interviews, refugee publications such as Aufbau (New York), and a wide array of other primary and secondary source materials. The book reveals divergent experiences with integration in different places. Bihler asks “why German Jews in London felt pressure to appear British but did not self-identify as such, while at the same time, German Jews in New York looked and sounded German Jewish, but identified as American” (12). Her study argues that “the discrepancy between cultural adaptation and identity practice is due primarily to circumstantial or external factors, namely, differing British and American immigration visa policies and the proximity of each country to the events in Europe” (149).

Even though Britain is closer to Europe, US immigration policies resulted in allowing 250,000 German Jews to enter the country as contrasted to the approximately 80,000 who entered Britain in the decade examined by Bihler. This, of course, resulted in a greater concentration of German Jews in New York. Proximity to the European continent also contributed to differences in German Jewish identity practices. To explain the resulting differences, Bihler examines German Jewish identity in chapters entitled “Arrival and Settlement”; “Family, Friendship, and Food”; “Dress and Names”; “Language and Mannerisms”; “Organizational Life”; and “Identities.”

In the chapter on “Identities” the author looks at the self-descriptors German Jews used in London and New York. German Jews in London favored the terms exile, émigré, and continental to denote they were not British while at the same time concealing their German origins. In New York, German Jews referred to themselves mainly as immigrants, accepting the American notion of diversity whereby they could become Americans, while retaining German Jewish customs and traditions. With Britain facing the threat of a Nazi invasion, German Jews were reluctant to identify themselves as German, choosing rather to remain as invisible as possible. German Jews in New York did refer to themselves as Deutsch, or German, “but only to differentiate themselves from American Jews who were of East European descent” (146). However, some political refugees did self-identify as German. Rudolf Katz, for example, called himself “an exiled German political man” (146).

By exploring “Dress and Names,” Bihler shows that having the appearance of being German was problematic in London, especially after September 1939, whereas German Jews in New York could take on American-style fashion “at their own pace” (77). In New York, German Jews retained their German first names in refugee circles, using American versions elsewhere. As for surnames, German Jews in London felt the need to adopt an English name to avoid possible negative reactions to a German name. For example, Karl Levinsohn became Charles Leigh and Liesel Rosenthal became Alice Rosen. By contrast, less than fifteen percent of German Jews in New York changed their surnames. Two factors contributed to this. First, the existence of a German Jewish enclave in New York meant German Jewish culture could thrive. Second, German Jewish names enjoyed respectability and honor in America going back to the nineteenth century.

In the chapter on “Language’” Bihler found that in London “it became imperative for German Jews to speak English” (92). After the outbreak of war in 1939, the pressure became particularly intense to switch to English. However, in New York, German Jews spoke German to a greater extent, as it was the language of discourse in home and community life. And in the chapter on “Family, Friendship, and Food,” Bihler relates that refugees quickly accepted British food, whereas in New York German food was readily available, although homes served up a mix of German and American foods...